Celebrating 20 years, Yardi Canada has come a long way. As a leading innovator that delivers technology solutions to move the Canadian real estate industry forward, Yardi Canada focuses on helping clients thrive through every change. We caught up with a few of Yardi Canada’s leaders to learn more about the company’s evolution. From DOS to Windows to Internet based web apps to mobile apps and now on to artificial intelligence, Yardi has always been there with a solution for its clients. Here are a few technological highlights from the past two decades. A Unique Market Mobility and the cloud might reign now, but it all began with DOS. Introducing real estate companies to new technologies to improve business operations has never been an easy task. As Canadians, we tend to be a little more conservative when it comes to change. However, Peter Altobelli, general manager and vice president of sales for Yardi Canada, found it was easy to bring Yardi’s three DOS products to market: Yardi Basic, Yardi Deluxe and Yardi Premier. “DOS was a great product to implement since it was reliable, simple and easy to use. It was a technology that property managers understood. Plus, it had all these great shortcuts, because we didn’t have a mouse back then,” recalls Altobelli. Altobelli set up Yardi’s first office in Canada in 1998, which started with four people and now has grown to a staff of over 200. Today’s multitasking generation, accustomed to multiple windows and screens, would feel restricted with a DOS platform. But back then, users could accomplish single functions at a time quickly and efficiently. It was exactly what the industry needed as a catalyst towards more technology and innovation. Moving to the Internet At every innovative milestone, Yardi Canada...

Last year was the most significant year for commercial drones yet. More than 66,000 remote drone pilots were certified by the FAA in 2017 in the U.S. alone. Drones made their way into a diverse range of industries, from archaeology to construction, insurance to agriculture. Of course, millions of dollars have been invested in drone services, but Goldman Sachs estimates that the commercial drone market industry will surpass $20 billion by 2021. One of the hottest drone products of the moment is the mapping service. DroneDeploy, a company founded in 2013, recently launched Live Map—the world’s first software able to generate drone maps in real time. Usually, creating a drone map takes time—first you have to plan a mission, fly, capture imagery, go back to your desk to upload the data on your computer (it must be a suitably powerful computer) and then play the waiting game. For hours. With the new service, those hours of waiting disappear—even without a laptop or even internet connection, you get the data you need immediately. The steps are simple: plan a flight, take off, look at maps render on-screen during flight. That’s it. Hundreds of acres of land can easily become consumable maps, shareable to collaborators via instant cloud-syncing across devices. Thus, if more in-depth analysis is required, users can also create higher-resolution 2D maps from the same flight data. Live Map is the next-generation product of Fieldscanner, but it’s five times faster, which makes it capable of keeping up with the real-time challenges of the real world. “Hours of waiting for crop imagery are over. We can capture real-time data in seconds without an internet connection, and begin making smarter crop management decisions before the drone hits the ground,” says Justin Metz, technology integration specialist at...

Developers, property owners and architects have a new tool available for building design. The Virtual Building Service, an innovation from Budapest-headquartered EIT Digital, creates digital simulations to test and optimize people flow and building occupancy. IBM and KONE, a company that specializes in the elevator and escalator industry, have partnered in the initiative, with KONE acting as business owner and activity leader. The service is designed to make it easier for real estate professionals to design buildings that are financially attractive, while maximizing shared spaces. Simulation data will be collected in real time by sensors, while new facilities will have to rely on input from previous studies. “Our simulation capability is much improved. We can, for example, simulate people flow in the lobby of an office building; understand how that might look along with the waiting times for the elevators,” said KONE’s head of People Flow Optimization Juha-Matti Kuusinen. “Not only can we calculate a building’s efficiency, but we can also benchmark it with similar buildings and conclude if the building is performing very well or if there’s room for improvement.” KONE had focused its efforts on vertical efficiency, such as people moving from floor to floor. In tall buildings, elevator group control systems select which elevator to dispatch to each request, aiming to minimize waiting times. These systems could be upgraded by forecasting future traffic based on historical statistics. “We realized, however, that if you don’t design end-to-end people flow, including the horizontal people flow, it is difficult for our customers to judge whether their buildings are really efficient. This is why we started to explore the optimization of the total people flow, combining both the horizontal and vertical dimensions,” added Kuusinen. Tarmo Kekki, executive partner at IBM, said the simulator is a...

When conversation shifts to home automation, references to Millennials are rarely far behind. While it’s true that the emerging generation of homeowners loves their tech toys, they aren’t the only ones harnessing the power of smart home technology. Senior living providers have joined other industry leaders in the pursuit of more automated options for residents as well. Amazon + Senior Housing Amazon has made huge strides as a provider of integrated automation and voice control for major home builders across the industry, including prominent developers Lennar and Shea Homes. Communities created by these companies are part of a growing “Wi-Fi Certified” trend, offering housing with built-in automation and voice control. For seniors, that means controlling features within their homes and interacting with the outside world is simplified, thanks to voice commands. Enabling the integration is Amazon’s Alexa, a cloud-based virtual assistant, which appears in various forms throughout the homes. She’s most often takes shape as a sleek, tabletop pillar in the Echo line of products. Through Alexa, seniors can set reminders for appointments and medications; control music and home ambiance; check weather; get news and sports updates; and order just about anything fathomable on Amazon.com. Amazon Echo Dot speakers permit seniors to access Alexa anywhere in their home. They also serve as Bluetooth speakers that are capable of connecting to a myriad of seniors’ personal devices. With so many ways to integrate, Amazon’s variations on Wi-Fi centric homes are quickly becoming the new standard for incoming baby boomers, but the tech toys come with a few caveats. Too Smart for Its Own Good? As technology develops at a rapid pace, home builders are left wondering just how quickly their newly installed gadgets will become obsolete. Alternatively, what are the costs associated with staying up-to-date...

A group of real estate industry thought leaders, including Yardi’s Brian Sutherland, exchanged thoughts on emerging real estate technologies in a recent Realcomm-hosted webinar. With the “explosion” of solutions to choose from, “it’s challenging to know which one will help operationally, increase the bottom line, reduce costs and serve customers,” said Sutherland, industry principal for Yardi Elevate. Some of them, such as coworking, didn’t exist only a few years ago. While buyers benefit from a number of innovative options, he noted, rapid obsolescence and change management challenges present potential pitfalls. Sutherland also addressed technology innovations that support facility and construction managers, leasing agents and property-level users in new and meaningful ways. “They want a solution that’s designed for them and which connects them to the central data system with mobile applications and dashboards. That’s why we created a connected ecosystem for the operations side [with Yardi Elevate},” he said. Expanding data access to the back office is tied to the larger issue of data management, Sutherland said. “The challenge is dissecting data and making it actionable for informed decisions. That’s the importance of role-based dashboards that remove guesswork for building operations people who need to control costs and work more efficiently.” Other participants in the webinar included Chip Pierpont, director of innovation, performance and technologies for the U.S. General Services Administration, which manages property for the federal government. GSA sees energy consumption analytics as a “pristine opportunity to engage in a new way to operate” to meet federal government energy reduction targets,” Pierpont said. GSA continues to seek ways to use energy analytics, retrofit equipment and incorporate additional sensing capabilities in its buildings. Pierpont also emphasized the importance of managing data, not just collecting it: “No matter how much data you have, if it’s...

When it comes to shared workspaces, we know technology is a major driving force. Today we look at some of the most important workspace technology trends shaping the coworking industry. The Internet of Things What is the IoT? Basically it is the connected amenities we use daily to send and receive data. The IoT includes physical devices such as virtual assistants, vehicles, appliances, smartphones, and just about anything else you can think of. Like this Forbes article suggested nearly 4 years ago, anything that can be connected, will be connected. What do we want in a coworking space? Smart connections. Building community. Enhancing relationships. The IoT improves the atmosphere and the benefits of a shared workspace. IoT powers meeting spaces, runs automated coffee machines, controls keyless access systems, promotes energy saving and much more. The uses of IoT are endless and only growing. By 2020, the number of connected ‘things’ is expected to reach 50 billion, and an estimated 99% of those ‘things’ can be further optimized. 94% of offices that chose to implement the IoT have already seen a return on investment. The future is only going to bring wider implementation of the IoT in shared workspaces. Mobilization Just about anything can be done via a mobile device today. And in the very near future, that ‘just about anything’ will become ‘literally everything’. Mobilization of our world is happening faster than any other aspect of our business lives. You can successfully run your coworking space from anywhere in the world via mobile phone, laptops, tablets, and more. This is allowing operators to work on expansion, design concepts, marketing, and many other aspects of running a workspace while the day to day running of the space basically runs itself. There’s so many coworking-relevant apps that it can be hard...

In 2017, Yardi sponsored a survey of hundreds of real estate professionals across Asia as well the subsequent report on the survey findings. Completed by Asia real estate business intelligence source Mingtiandi, the report examines the state of technology in Asia’s real estate industry – and looks at where it’s heading. According to the report, property management technology has seen a global investment of $7.8 billion since 2013, with 60% of that investment going into Asia. Despite such hefty figures, up to 77% of Asia’s real estate professionals feel that they’re lagging technologically, citing the overwhelming reason for the region’s slow adoption of technology as resistance to change. Staying ahead of the game over the next five years will mean that managing human behavior, alongside investing in technology, will be crucial for companies looking to drive success through integrated, cohesive data and operations. Read the report executive summary and stay tuned for updates on the Yardi/Mingtiandi...

Commercial real estate education and event organization the Realcomm Conference Group LLC (Realcomm) celebrated its two-decade milestone by honoring 20 visionaries at its annual conference in Las Vegas. The prestigious group of honorees included Yardi founder and president Anant Yardi, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing his career-long accomplishments in real estate and technology. Realcomm also recognized the following industry leaders: Jesse Carrillo, SVP and CIO, Hines; Dave Clute, Chief Marketing Officer, ESD; Maureen Ehrenberg, President, Global Integrated Facilities Management, JLL; Robert Entin, EVP and CIO, Vornado Realty Trust; John Gilbert, EVP, COO and CTO of Rudin Management; Mark Golan, VP of Real Estate and Workplace Services, Google; Don Goldstein, former SVP and CISO, Digital Technology, CBRE; Hari Gunasingham, Founder, Sigma Sustainability Institute; Tama Huang, Principal and Global Real Estate Advisory Services Leader, NOI Strategies; Sandy Jacolow, CIO, Silverstein Properties; Ted Maulucci, President, SmartONE Solutions; Scott Morey, Executive Director of GPG Advisers; Paul Oswald, Managing Director, CBRE; John Petze, Principal, SkyFoundry; Wayne Pryor, Principal, 2Five1 Consulting; Joseph Rich, SVP and CIO, Related Companies;  Darrell Smith, Director, Central Facilities Operation of Google; James Whalen, SVP and CIO, Boston Properties; Scott Zimmerman, CIO, CenterPoint Properties. The award criteria included consistent focus on real estate innovation and contributions to the industry for more than 20 years. Mr. Yardi founded his company in 1984 in Santa Barbara, Calif. Since then, it has become a global real estate software leader, and now has over 6,000 employees in 40 offices worldwide. “Anant is a constant supporter of Realcomm’s vision for uniting technology, innovation and real estate operations. His thought leadership, service to the industry and technology innovation over the years have been profoundly impactful,” said Jim Young, co-founder and CEO of Realcomm. “Realcomm has done a remarkable job enhancing...

During the recent Argentum Senior Living Executive Conference in San Diego, sociobiologist  Rebecca Costa shared scientific breakthroughs that are prolonging the lives—and quality of life– for seniors. Preventing Falls In seniors, falls are directly linked to shorter lifespans. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that the death rate from falls among adults ages 65 and over has increased 31 percent from 2007 to 2016. The rate is growing the fastest among seniors aged 85 or more years. Understanding the cause of falls has helped researchers develop tools to prevent them. An article in the National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health reveals that changes in gait are the predecessors to falls. Gait disorders are often indicative of lesions in the nervous system, adverse side effects from medications, the onset of dementia, or misalignments within the spine, hips, or knees. With advanced technology called predictive analytics, caregivers can now foretell when a person is going to trip within three weeks with 86 percent accuracy. Sensors attached to the senior or the senior’s support mechanism (such as a can or walker) can detect a 3-5 centimeter per second change in gait, walk or stride. This information is then sent to caregivers in the form of a digital alert. The information sent by the sensors can help caregivers determine the best method of treatment for the senior. Treatment could include physical therapy, alterations to a sedative prescription, or tests for brain and nervous system health. By preventing falls through Predictive Analytics and accessories, seniors can avoid assisted living for up to four years. Nanobots Promote Health from the Inside, Out A post released by the World Economic Forum explores how nanobots are being used to fight cancer. Nanomachines, or nanobots, are robots made of organic,...

One of the most innovative programs on the UC Santa Barbara campus, the Technology Management Program (TMP) benefits students, employers, and the community at large. The TMP focuses on practical applications of tech and engineering skills in the workplace, and now offers a fast-tracked master’s degree program for those wishing to further their education. “We think we have a very unique program that is designed to accelerate how quickly an early-career engineer or scientist can become a leader in a technology company, by emphasizing human capital skills like communication and leadership,” said David Telleen-Lawton, Career Development Manager for the TMP. In the process of developing the Masters in Technology Management (MTM) track, a team from TMP conducted extensive market validation research, including speaking with executives at 24 local, Bay Area, and Southern California tech companies, including Yardi (pictured), to determine what skill sets and educational backgrounds were most needed. “We learned that companies need more software developers. They also told us that they could not find enough technically trained people that would take initiative. They need people who see the bigger picture and realize that the organizational problems are often more intransigent than the technical problems,” Telleen-Lawton shared. The MTM team also met with potential program students, where they learned that interest in the program was not just from engineers and scientists, but others with non-technical degrees already or wanting to work in the tech space. As a result, the MTM “is a curriculum of leadership skills for those who are comfortable working at fast-moving technology companies,” Telleen-Lawton said. The nine-month program is designed to quickly return students to the job market after packing in a year of management-level education focused on business, leadership, human resources, and product marketing. TMP leaders are proud to...

“CRE Tech Industry—Boom or Bust?” was the question posed in a recent Realcomm-hosted webinar. The answer will depend on technology providers’ ability to differentiate themselves and deliver solutions that create value for building owners and operators, according to a panel of real estate technology suppliers, investors and users including Yardi’s Alex Stanton. The five webinar panelists agreed that the commercial real estate industry historically has been slow to innovate its asset management technology. In recent years, however, competitive, regulatory and sustainability pressures have generated a sense of urgency among property owners and managers to regard technology as a strategic ally. Stanton, Yardi’s regional director for commercial sales, noted that generic enterprise management platforms have evolved to accommodate procurement, energy management, coworking and marketing, paralleling the morphing of “lease” from basic tenancy to include amenities and online self-service options. “As a provider of transaction-enabling technology, Yardi aims to create deep transactional functions that can be embedded into the core technology platform,” he said. John Gilbert, chief operating officer and executive vice president of New York City property owner and manager Rudin Management, said his company invests in technology startups and even spun off its own software company. He likened technology to a construction project: “When building a structure, we dig a hole and pour a foundation. Property owners should look at technology adoption exactly the same way. I don’t want 20 more silos with 20 new technologies. All data collected should go into a central, integrated platform that can make the building run more efficiently and be smarter.” This approach will “future-proof” buildings and create value by correlating data that’s already being collected. Will O’Donnell, a senior vice president at logistics real estate leader Prologis Inc., noted that the difficulty of adopting new technology can...

A key investment management trend over the past few years is the increasing demands limited partners (LPs) are placing on their general partners (GPs) such as additional key performance indicators, fee disclosures, or a more active relationship, among others. Changes in the relationship between LPs and GPs involved in real estate investment, the maturation of the investment management industry and increasing sophistication of asset aggregators are some of the principal factors. Co-investment came into favor as a strategy for LPs, creating new challenges even as it solved others. In this new paradigm, advancements in investment management technology is key to making a potentially fraught relationship work for both sides. Analyzing opportunities and performance has created new challenges for LPs and GPs involved in private equity real estate investments. For example, LPs often request different standard data than GPs are accustomed to using; GPs must produce custom data extracts for each LP, a cumbersome and time-consuming exercise. For their part, the LPs often struggle to compile and aggregate data from GPs in analyzing their investments. With these challenges, many LPs and GPs are seeking new tools for collaborating and managing their real estate investment activities. One increasingly popular option involves employing a single connected platform that draws information from disparate data sources and aggregates complex ownership structures.  Such a platform provides clarity into investment programs, manages risk and allocation, and easily calculates returns and compares them to benchmarks. This approach can improve deal tracking, communication and investment decisions for LPs and GPs. Unifying operational and financial data within a single platform helps GPs by automating the complex accounting transactions associated with fund management. They can more easily manage complex ownership structures, consolidate financials and report to investors. Capital calls can be timed to up-to-the-minute operating...

The iPhone is Apple’s most popular product, with superb design and flawless operating system. The Mac is a beautiful and powerful machine that turns working into fun. iPhones and Macs, as members of the same product family, communicate nicely through continuity module, but there’s one more thing that could make the experience even better. In fact, Apple users have been dreaming about this for a very long time. The unification of iOS and macOS becomes a dream as soon as one joins the ranks of Mac users. It’s sad to see how few apps made it to the Mac thus far. Since last December, rumor has it that Apple is almost ready to fulfill this desire. A Bloomberg report claims that Apple has an internal project, dubbed Marzipan, that seeks to make it possible for app developers to publish apps that will work on both the mobile iOS devices and on Mac computers. But here people have different opinions on how, if at all, this will roll out. Blurring the lines between iOS and macOS is anticipated to occur this year at the next major software kicks in. If Apple decides to stick to its usual release pattern, we’re looking at iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 (some say that Apple might even rename it all together and go with macOS 11 for such a big update). The update is anticipated to be launched at WWDC in June, following to launch to the public in September. Until then, we will stockpile our questions. The first set of questions that comes to mind has to do with the concepts of each OS: iOS doesn’t have a mouse cursor and runs only on touchscreen devices, while macOS has no support for touchscreen devices and needs a mouse...

It’s an exciting time for the condo industry in Canada. Facing tech disruption, new building, increasing regulation and competition, condo companies need to rethink — and even reinvent — the way they do business. To improve operational performance and increase NOI, condo managers need software platforms that deliver actionable analytics and integrated online services. A Market on the Move  As revealed in the PWC Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2018 report, the condo sector in Canada is seeing steady demand in most markets. In downtown core areas, condo units remain attractive to young professionals with a live/work/play lifestyle, along with retiring baby boomers who are downsizing from single family residences to enjoy urban amenities. The condo industry is also evolving in response to new needs and pressures. Whether there isn’t enough supply to meet demand or oversupply is finally being absorbed, condo managers need a profitable strategy that suits every scenario — including new projects such as popular multiuse communities that are driving density in city centers. These trendy new communities combine a mix of condo units with retail, a range of services and commercial space. Beyond the concept of mixed use, these “developments-as-neighborhoods”  recognize the demand for a community infrastructure that includes schools, parks, shopping and medical services that consider needs of young professionals, young families and older residents, too. According the PWC report, “The age of the shrinking condo may be coming to an end: units are starting to get bigger, reflecting the needs of families and move-up buyers.”  Tip #1: Go Paperless and Save  To be more agile in a changing market and transform operations to be more profitable, you have to say goodbye to paper. By streamlining invoice processing and centralizing spend management with automated online approval workflows, you ensure...

If you lived through the Google Glass launch and decided that smartglasses are not a device you would use every day, you might consider changing your mind. Intel’s development team has been busy and has something new to share. In an exclusive arrangement with The Verge, Intel showcased the new Vaunt gadget, a piece of tech that doesn’t scream at you ‘tech.’ They’re probably the closest thing to regular pair of eyeglasses and come in several styles, work with prescriptions and can be worn all day long without having your nose or ears get numb. Intel’s New Design Group (NDG) boast a simple interface, minimal design and a non-intrusive notification system, just the features to make the world have a second look and maybe bring the smart eyewear to the mainstream. Weighing almost 1.8 ounces (50 grams), the Vaunt glasses have plastic frames, which make lighter than most of the smart glasses and AR headsets out there, and most importantly, they feel like a regular pair of specs. At a first glance, nothing ‘smart’ really stands out—there are no visible camera, buttons or touch controls—which is ironically a plus. Intel learned from its predecessor (Google) that these elements are driving people away. The Vaunt’s technology is made by Intel, as are the chips and application processor. At the moment, the smartglasses are designed only to display notifications and basic information directly into the user’s eyes. Think text messages, recipes and directions, but following the launch, developers will come up with new apps serving various purposes. Let’s get back to the ‘directly into the user’s eyes’ part—Vaunt works by the means of a Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VSCEL) to project information onto a reflector onto a reflector on the right lens, which in turn...

At the beginning there were fitness wearables. They slowly transgressed into fashionable wearables and now can be seen in many industries. These days, the tiny devices, once strapped around the wrist, can be found all over one’s body, including on your fingernails. “We’re seeing lots of not obvious usage scenarios, but once you start to really think about it, it makes perfect sense,” Brian Blau, research vice president for personal technologies at market research firm Gartner, said in an interview from CES. Here’s a list with some of the most interesting ones out there: L’Oréal UV Sense Among the smallest wearables out there, L’Oréal’s UV Sense is a UV sensor that sticks to your fingernail. It comes with replaceable adhesives, but one can easily stick it to other items, like your watch or sunglasses. Thanks to its NFC feature, in order to access the data it collects, scanning it with the phone is all that’s needed. As you probably guessed, it helps people track how much time people spend in the sun without being overbearing. UV Sense will determine how long you’ve been out in the sun and once synced with your app, displays a score that shows if you’ve spent too much time under the sun’s powerful rays. Because everyone can handle different amounts of sun, the app will ask some initial questions about your skintone to set a baseline. In addition, it can also recommend products based off your skin score. LIZN Hearpieces Another medical aid presented at CES comes from Danish company LIZN. By mixing advanced hearing aid technology and cell phone components, the company built a product worthy to be named a CES Innovation Awards Honoree this year in Las Vegas. The earbuds, equipped with Bluetooth compatibility (great for listening...

More than 250 million people lack the gift of sight. While for the most of us even imagining what it is like to live in complete darkness is impossible, some have found a way to make a commitment that’s truly amazing—to end vision loss by 2020. Luckily, we live in the era of wearable technology. eSight originates in Toronto, Canada, where one successful engineer—Conrad Lewis— with two legally blind sisters, wanted to use his skills to come up with a solution to their blindness. It took him seven years and investments of tens of millions of dollars to develop the technology and in 2013, managed to release two beta versions of the glasses that would revolutionize the world of the legally blind. In 2017, the company launched eSight 3, a much sleeker and lighter version of the headset, which also has improved battery life and image quality. How does it work? The gadget is equipped with two depth sensors and a high speed, high resolution camera positioned in the middle of the eSight glasses that captures whatever it is that the user is looking at in real time. It also has a powerful computer, which instantly processes the high definition video and displays it on two OLED screens in front of the user’s eyes, using specific optics. The gizmo’s proprietary algorithms enhance the video feed, which offers clarity without perceptible latency or delay. This allows the user to auto-focus between short-range vision to long-range vision. A special feature—the patented Bioptic Tilt capability—enables users to adjust the eyewear to the precise position they choose and also maximize the outer peripheral vision, which people with low vision still have functional. The feature, combined with imperceptible short latency, keeps the user’s balance in check, thus no nausea...

What does “digital transformation” mean to commercial property management beyond a catchphrase? Six thought leaders including Alex Stanton, Yardi’s commercial industry principal, provided clarity on the subject in a recent Realcomm-hosted webinar. Digital transformation extends technology beyond acquiring and managing property.  It’s driven by business factors such as profitability, occupant satisfaction and productivity along with new technologies including the cloud, data analytics and the Internet of Things. Digital transformation is “a strategy lever to achieve broader business agendas and create new levels of value,” according to panelist Marc Petock, chief communications officer and vice president of marketing for IoT technology builder Lynxspring. Digital transformation aggregates business, operations and IT practices into a common platform for people, processes, best practices and services, Petock said, with new technology embraced not for its own sake but to change thought and organizational culture. Executed properly, digital transformation can foster better resource planning, empowerment, technology collaboration and risk mitigation. With heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment comprising a major expense, for example, commercial building owners and operators are incentivized to adopt intelligent building technology that provides new insight into operations and equipment performance. Commercial real estate has traditionally been slow to adopt transformative technology; when the panelists were asked how much of the industry understands digital transformation, no estimate exceeded 30 percent. But that’s changing in the face of pressures for profits, high sustainability expectations and consumers’ technology sophistication. “Technology used to mean ‘support’; now it’s at the forefront of driving revenue and services,” said Sandy Jacolow, chief information officer for real estate developer, investor and manager Silverstein Properties. “It has shifted how we do business.  For example, mobile capability is no longer a luxury; tenants say ‘Is there an app for that?’  A poor interface or customer experience...

Just before CES 2018, Dell unveiled its new XPS 13 laptop. The device, favorited by many thanks to its compact design, bright display, comfortable keyboard and decent battery life, has been completely overhauled, boasting narrower bezels, a new cooling system and a white option with a stain-resistant coating. The device had been revealed at CES 2012 and counts now seven versions, the very last one featuring a new white-and-gold finish, a slimmer frame, eighth generation Intel CPUs and other upgrades. Design wise, the latest version marks the first tangible design changes since its original launch. Dell slimmed down the XPS 13 chassis to be 30 percent thinner at just 0.3 inches (3.4mm) at its narrowest point, but also lighter at nearly 2.7 pounds (1.2kg). Obviously, the color change is the most notable modification, even though the original black and silver configuration is still available. The white and rose model features a woven glass palm rest that has a slight texture to it, unlike the black model’s smooth palm rest. According to the company, it is finished with a titanium oxide coating for shine, and the anti-stain coating that should protect the palm rest from turning yellow. There are three USB-C ports (two of which are Thunderbolt 3), a microSD card reader and a 3.5mm audio jack. One strange thing about the XPS 13 is the webcam placement—at the bottom of the screen instead of above it—but this is not something new. The camera can be used to log into the computer using face recognition if the fingerprint scanner feels ancient. The device will be available with an FHD non-touch or 4K touch display, while inside it comes equipped with 8th generation quad-core Intel Core i5 and i7 CPUs, Intel Graphics 620, support for up...

Peter Altobelli, vice president and general manager at Yardi Canada Ltd. and Sean Bremner, maintenance director at Baptist Housing, presented a session on Social Housing Technology to a packed room at Housing Central. The conference was held in Richmond, BC and hosted by the British Columbia Non-Profit Housing Association. During the presentation, Altobelli and Bremner explored how technology can improve organizational management and generate cost savings with high returns on investment. The presentation also gave attendees advice in preparation for change as they implement new technology. As vice president of a software provider that works with social housing organizations across Canada, Altobelli provided insight into the latest technology geared for non-profit housing managers. “The crucial value-adds that an organization will realize with the use of technology are automating tasks, improving the user experience with better tools to increase productivity, and simplifying staff management,” said Altobelli. Altobelli spoke about how automated processes are most effective when based in the cloud and optimized for multiple web browsers, including tablets and smartphones. Putting those solutions in the cloud makes it easier to create effective access for tenants and prospects, property and financial management and maintenance management. “When you are able to access accounting, budgeting, inspections, maintenance, energy and resident management data all on one system, it enables increased productivity for your entire team,” Altobelli said. Bremner presented a case study of how his organization, Baptist Housing, overcame internal challenges with technology. Focusing on maintenance workflows, Bremner described how former processes that required manual, handwritten notes often omitted relevant details, made it difficult to access active maintenance requests, created scheduling challenges and limited the capability of Baptist Housing to report on current and past maintenance requests. “We adopted a cloud-based software solution that drastically changed our maintenance program....

With 2017 drawing to a close, we’ve been thinking about the future. The current year’s tech trends have been big and impactful, with artificial intelligence topping the charts. How about 2018? Most likely, technology is set to focus on the internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence and machine learning. The Internet of Things Pretty much everyone has heard about IoT as it can be found in almost any industry now. You must have noticed that everything is becoming ‘smart’. In your car, at home, in the office, or shopping—there’s smart technology everywhere, ready to collect data and connect to other devices in order to assist you with your tasks. Gartner states that by 2020, a quarter of a billion cars will be hooked up to the internet. No doubt the trend will continue to progress in 2018 and even expand to areas outside of those mentioned above. Artificial Intelligence Pretty much anywhere you look—tech conferences, development and discussions, AI is at the forefront. And rightly so as it’s no easy thing to have computers able to learn in much the same way as humans do. Behind its extraordinary advancement is the incredible explosion in data—the more data an AI system has, the faster it can learn and the more accurate it becomes. It seems like humanity is on a path without a return alley. Machine Learning This technology has already swept every platform into its net. All developers want to make life and software more intelligent and advanced. It will replace all those mindless, repetitive and time-consuming tasks, precisely what technology should do. We already have some automated processes, decisions, functions and systems, carried out by algorithms or robots. Machine learning is the next step and ever more industries will be impacted by it—truck...

LONDON – Technology has changed all our lives so fundamentally in recent years that it is sometimes difficult to look back to an era when things were done differently. Today’s normality was, just a short time ago, unthinkable. Banking is a good example. Today, we take it for granted that we can access our accounts at any time and transfer money and pay bills quickly and cheaply. The chequebook is still available for those who need it, but it won’t be long before they too are consigned to history. Then take taxis. While in London at least, using a cab was once the preserve of those with substantial salaries – or travelling at somebody else’s expense – now the rise of Uber and others means that getting a ride home is a real option for many people. Property has, of course, been slow to embrace the benefits that digital technology can bring – one estimate is that the industry is around 20 years behind financial services – but that is starting to change and at pace. Just a few years ago, if the property press mentioned technology at all, it was to reference the influence of the likes of Rightmove or Zoopla. Today the phenomenon has its own name: proptech. A lot of attention has been paid to how proptech is disrupting the industry, most notably through big data potentially making the role played by many agents redundant. That is obviously a cause for concern and the introduction of new ways of working will obviously have to be done with care and compassion. But proptech also has the potential to bring huge benefits to both property companies and their consumers – and without the need for anyone to lose their jobs. In no sector...

Just in time for the holidays, Sony has resurrected the robot pet it removed from shelves in 2006. This new model is called aibo, which stands for Artificial Intelligence robot. Aibo is also the Japanese word for “companion” or “friend.” The new model (no. ERS-1000) develops from a newborn puppy to an adult with personality shaped by the interaction with its owners and surroundings, thanks to the latest AI technology. This ability to form an emotional bond with members of the family makes each aibo unique, so no two will be the same. The new puppy’s rounded appearance makes it pretty irresistible. Sony has spent quite a bit on animation. That being said, I am personally a bit skeptical about how it feels to pet a piece of plastic, even though it’s premium plastic. The pup has the capacity of expressing its love for its owners through lifelike expressions and a dynamic array of movements, but it does make one wonder—is this the future of pets? The robot pet has a behavioral repertoire more limited than that of the least bright dog, but an aibo doesn’t need you to feed it (technically, it does when you charge it), doesn’t wake you up at 5am to take it out in the pouring rain and will never make a mess inside your home. Aibo’s ‘fur’ is ivory-white, and it has cute flapping black ears and a wagging tail. It’s about 30-centimeters long and comes with a package of sensors on the head, chin and back for pet detection, two cameras, four microphones for voice commands and internet connectivity, as well as the earlier mentioned upgraded AI backed by cloud computing to develop the dog’s personality. The advantages of deep learning and AI tricks help it to...

Automakers have been hard at work, developing ideas for the cars of the future, but in order for the new vehicles to have a future, a proper infrastructure needs to be designed and put into place. The battery industry is in full swing with more and more scientists getting involved into the development of bigger and better ones, but regardless of their capacity, they all need to be recharged. This means that charging stations need to spring in at least as many locations as the conventional gas stations. Sortimo, a German company headquartered in Berlin, unveiled plans of what’s to become the largest electric vehicle fast-charging station in the world—the Sortimo Innovationspark Zusmarshausen. The project will be located along Germany’s six-lane A8 highway, in the industrial area in Bavarian-Swabia, between Ulm and Augsburg, in close proximity to Tesla’s Supercharger in Jettingen-Scheppach. The electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging station will consist of 144 charging ports, which will allow for more than 4,000 cars to be refilled with energy on a daily basis. Of the planned charging columns, 24 are to be superfast chargers, with a charging capacity of record-breaking 350 kilowatts, meaning that a vehicle battery can be replenished in only a few minutes. Tesla’s ‘Superchargers’ currently stop at about 150 kilowatts, but even though this is more than what today’s car batteries can handle, the company is convinced that both battery capacities and the need for charging infrastructure are growing at a significant pace. Moreover, the Innovationspark will feature offices, shopping and dining areas, serving those who stop to recharge their vehicles. The images accompanying the announcement reveal that the planned station will be topped with green roofs, emphasizing on the development’s care for nature and awareness for the environment. The massive charging station will...